US Ambassador to Turkiye Barrack stated that a new era in bilateral relations is ahead for Turkiye and the USA, and that the issues of S-400, F-35, and CAATSA will be resolved by 2025.

US Ambassador to Turkiye Thomas Barrack gave his first interview to the state news agency Anadolu. Barrack spoke about US-Türkiye relations. Barrack made a quick entry into Turkish diplomatic circles. He moved to Ankara less than two months ago and presented his credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan just days after arriving in Ankara, a detail that shows Turkiye’s willingness to develop relations at the highest level possible. Barack preferred to speak about US–Turkish relations in İzmir—rather than in Ankara—a city rich in historical reminders of the deep, often turbulent, relationship between Turkiye and Greece.

The ambassador spoke on Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in The Hague, “Leading up to this NATO meeting, we’ve always reflected on Turkiye as being a great NATO ally. But in my humble opinion, Turkiye has never gotten the elevation of the relevance that it should have as such a major regional player.” Solution F-35 and CAATSA by the end of 2025 Barrack emphasised that F-16s and F-35s are critical components for NATO member Turkiye, noting that a major amount of F-35 components are manufactured in Turkiye. He stressed that Turkiye had already paid for the F-16s and their upgrading, and he related some experiences from the time when CAATSA penalties were in place. (TurDef’s note: Turkiye made first payment in June 2024.)

He said, (The US Congress is willing to take a fresh look at it. President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Fidan are doing the same and saying, ‘let’s start fresh’... I think what you’ll see is President Trump and President Erdoğan telling Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Fidan, ‘end it, figure out the way and end it,’ and Congress will support an intelligent conclusion. So my belief is that by year-end, we have the possibility of having a solution.” Regarding the F-35, F-16, and S-400 issues, Barrack added: “So I think what you’re going to see in the next couple of months is a renewal of a meeting between our two presidents and our two secretaries of state, a bilateral agenda—all these things that have been discussed for five years. F-35s, F-16s, S-400s, sanctions, tariffs are secondary to what is our mission.”

Offence Partners, not Defence

The US envoy stated that the two countries should extend their relations from a defensive to an offensive partnership. He has not explained how offence partnership works and against to. He said only, “For the first time, as long as I can remember, you have an American commitment and a Turkiye commitment to say: instead of just being defence partners, let’s be offence partners. How do we help Turkish people, and how do we create more understanding with the American population?”

You may find more details about Erdoğan's meeting with Trump.

Author: Özgür Ekşi